Birthday Blues
by ArmidaLore01
Summary: They had forgotten his birthday. Again. He could only hope that Morgan would make him feel better, but with his partner down with what seemed like the worst cold he had in a while, the night was looking bleak. Morgan/Reid


A/N: Inspired by the prompt on the otpprompts Tumblr page: _Imagine person A has an awful birthday and everyone forgets. When they get home, they discover person B baked them a cake._ I'd like to picture Reid as eventually becoming comfortable enough in a relationship to use pet names and terms of endearment, so that's how it's going to be here :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Criminal Minds.

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The morning of Reid's 32nd birthday did not get off to a great start.

Roughly an hour before his alarm was set to go off, the booming sound of a continuous, wheezing cough stabbed through his unconscious mind, startling Reid out of his sleep with a frantically beating heart. Morgan was sitting up, and the bed was shaking as he coughed loud and deep into his fist. Reid gave a flinch at the horrid underlying rasp in his boyfriend's distress.

"Derek?" Reid murmured, eyes still narrowed as he struggled to blink the remnants of his sleep away. He slowly shifted into a sitting position underneath the covers, scooting closer to Morgan. At having woken up the younger man, Morgan quickly sought to subside his noise, settling for close-lipped coughs, rubbing at his throat. Reid placed his arms around Morgan's torso, lowering his lips to a bronze shoulder. "That doesn't sound too great, sweetie. You okay?"

Morgan gave a single, powerful hack in reply and sniffed. "I don't think so," Morgan spoke, his voice croaked and raw. He gave a low groan and shimmied out of Reid's embrace, pressing his fist against his temple and dropping back onto the mattress. "Spence, I don't think I'll be going into work today. I'm sorry."

"Derek, you're sick. Nothing to be sorry about," Reid said, reaching over and cupping his palm over Morgan's forehead, cringing at the heat radiating off his skin. "Hmm, you're running a slight fever. Probably around 101.6 degrees Fahrenheit, though I can get the thermometer from the bathroom and measure it more accu-"

"No, don't bother. I trust you," Morgan rasped, smiling sleepily at other man.

Reid hummed in assent before dropping his hand. "I'll let Hotch know you're not coming in. Right now, I'm going to take care of you before I have to get to work." He threw back the covers, which he noticed now were slightly damp with Morgan's cold sweat, and got out of bed.

"No, baby, get back to bed," Morgan said in protest, clearing his throat at the strain of having raised his voice. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's alright, Derek," Reid said, softly smiling down at Morgan. "I'm fine. Plus, I'll feel better once I get some caffeine in my system. Before that though, I'll take out the cold medicine and make you an easy breakfast." He leaned down, tenderly kissing Morgan's lips.

Morgan groaned, pulling away reluctantly with a turn of his head. "Babe, normally I'd love to kiss you, but go on, get. You're going to make yourself sick."

"Relax," Reid chuckled, pulling away and straightening up. "Let me get you that medicine."

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His mind had been so preoccupied with taking care of Morgan that morning, as well as preparing himself to head to the bureau for work, that it was only when he was on the road that he recalled his birthday. He frowned; going into work without Morgan was bad enough, but going into work without Morgan on his birthday? Reid sighed and settled in for a long day.

Still, he smiled to himself as he pulled into the parking lot of the bureau building, perhaps Garcia had prepared him one of her famous cakes for the occasion.

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Reid rapped his knuckles on Hotch's office door, glancing around at the gradually filling bullpen as he waited. Once he heard the distinct sound of Hotch calling out, he twisted open the doorknob and stepped inside.

"Reid," Hotch greeted, peering over at the youngest agent as he looked up from his paperwork. "What can I do for you?"

"Hey Hotch," Reid replied, nodding toward the older agent. "I just wanted to let you know that Derek woke up this morning with a fever and he won't be coming in today. Doctor's orders."

Hotch's lips lifted into a wry grin at the small joke. "Alright. It's no problem. As far as I know, JJ hasn't accepted any new possible cases for today, so would you mind taking care of some of Morgan's paperwork?"

"Yeah, I could do that. Thanks, Hotch," Reid said, turning back toward the door once the unit chief lowered his head to occupy himself with his task.

Reid hovered for a moment at the threshold, turning back around toward his boss, a slight frown marring his face. Hotch appeared to have noticed the lingering presence in his office and raised his head, fixating on Reid with deeply furrowed brows. "Anything else I can do for you, Reid?"

Reid opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it with a huffed laugh, shaking his head. "You know what, never mind. Sorry," he answered, stepping out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

He walked toward the steps leading into the bullpen, his mind in confused turmoil. Hotch had been one of the ones he had been counting on today to have at least acknowledged his birthday; being a father made him more perceptive and prepared for these types of events. Still, Reid waved it off. The unit chief had been under a lot of strain from Chief Strauss lately, and it was understandable that he was more distracted than usual until she laid off.

He approached his desk once he reached the bullpen floor, and caught sight of Prentiss, bent at an uncomfortable angle as she reached down into her bag to grab a thick file out of it, her long, raven hair flowing well past her shoulders. She straightened herself back up, cracking her neck in the process.

"Hey, Emily," Reid said, placing his satchel down on the desktop and taking a seat at his station. Prentiss' eyes flitted over to him and lit up once she saw who it was.

"Hey, Reid," she greeted in turn before her brows pinched together, looking past and around Reid. "No Morgan today?"

Reid shook his head, doing his best to scratch at the base of his skull while avoiding getting his fingers caught in the tangled knots in his long hair. "Unfortunately, no. Derek woke up this morning with a fever. He told me himself that he wasn't going to be coming in. Usually, it's me trying to convince him to stay home if this happened before, so I'm pretty sure he feels horrible if he was the one to suggest it in the first place."

"Oooo," Prentiss groaned, mouth stretching back in a pained grimace. "Poor guy. Tell him I hope he feels better soon." And without another word, she turned back to the file on her desk.

Reid nodded, eyeing the empty desk in front of him. Morgan's inbox was overflowing with case files and reports to be filled and inter-filed with all the completed ones from the week. Reid winced as he turned to see his own full inbox, regretting the decision he made last night to leave them here instead of taking them home like he usually did. It was nearly as high as Morgan's stack. He huffed out an elongated sigh and grabbed the first report.

The rest of the day was full of paperwork and case files, with occasional trips to the break room for coffee refills and to the bathroom. As the hours went by, the weariness and drowsiness from the short amount of sleep he achieved began to hit him, pulling at his lids and tensing his back and shoulders into a sore knot. The day could not have progressed more slowly.

Later on, Reid took a deep breath and flipped the page of the book he was currently occupying himself with, Thomas Malory's _Le Morte d'Arthur._ It was 4:46PM. He had finished his and Morgan's stack (along with some of Prentiss' files that she managed to slip in, adding to Reid's increasing annoyance) about an hour prior, and he decided to do some light reading before quitting time. He so desperately wanted to get into his car and drive home to Morgan; he had definitely been right to assume that it would be a long day.

Eventually five o'clock did roll around, and the bullpen was full of shuffling and bustling about as the unit employees rushed to gather their belongings and leave for home. Reid took his time, pocketing his mobile and neatly sliding his notebooks and report documents into his bag.

Next to him, Prentiss flung her purse strap around her neck and grabbed her go-bag. "Reid, by any chance, have you seen JJ? Her and I are supposed to be hanging out tonight since Will had the day off to take Henry to visit his grandmother."

Reid shook his head. "No, I haven't seen her since this morning."

Prentiss glanced up over Reid's shoulder and waved at someone with a grin. "Oh, never mind, see her. I'll see you and hopefully Morgan tomorrow, okay?" she said, patting his shoulder as she walked past him to get to JJ, who was waiting for her by the elevator outside the glass doors of the bullpen.

Reid dipped his head into a short nod, watching the two women meet up and begin chattering among themselves, stepping into the elevator car. "Right. See you."

He looked up at the second floor landing where the offices were. Rossi and Hotch's closed doors and dark rooms indicated that the two men had already left work. Garcia had previously stopped by to briefly bid her farewells as Reid and Prentiss were still packing up, blowing a kiss to the pair of them before also taking off for the day. It was just him here now. He bit his lip, putting on his jacket and grabbing the handle of his satchel. He swiped his keys from where they were next to his keyboard and turned to follow his colleagues out of the bullpen.

Reid opted to take the stairs instead of the elevator down to the first floor of the building, wanting some time to dwell on the day's events. Or rather lack of events. His heart felt heavy, throbbing with hurt and disappointment. Not one of his friends had remembered his birthday. Not a single one. Not JJ when he saw her that morning in the break room, not Rossi in passing, not Hotch or Prentiss. Not even Garcia when she called him into her office, offering Reid hope and a brief period of elated happiness only to discover that she was concerned about Morgan's whereabouts. In fact, that was the only topic they really talked to Reid at all today that had nothing to do with work: Morgan's absence and welfare upon finding out the reason.

The only true highlight to his day was calling Morgan during his lunch hour. The other man still sounded a little congested and paused to cough every so often, but Reid's spirits were lifted because Morgan didn't sound nearly as bad as he had this morning. It was just a check-up call, but Reid still felt his heart flutter with warmth when Morgan ended the call with the now common "I love you." It was a beacon of light within the otherwise gloomy day.

It really wasn't fair to feel like this, Reid thought as he exited the FBI building, making the trek over to his car. He shouldn't be feeling this hurt over something as trivial as a _birthday_. This was something that he should have been used to; growing up, his mother, sick as she was, was unfit to remember his birthday most of the time, let alone celebrate it on even the best of days. His team had even forgotten his birthday once before.

But they had apologized repeatedly for days afterwards, all of them furious with themselves at having completely bypassed Reid's date of birth as easily as they had. They had remembered the year previous, throwing him a huge party at Rossi's home as if attempting to redeem themselves for his 30th. And then they had forgotten once more.

He unlocked his car, sliding inside and shutting the door, rubbing at his worn face. He felt tired, discouraged, and quite upset. This definitely stung. He could only hope that Morgan could help make it better once he arrived home.

But with his partner down with what seemed like the worst cold he had in a while, the night was looking bleak.

.

.

"Derek?" Reid called as he stepped over the threshold into the darkened house. He frowned, shutting the door behind him. He noticed a faint glow of light dancing across the walls, coming from deeper within the house. He kicked off his shoes and bent down to place them at their proper position against the wall, dropping his satchel in the open space next to them. Slipping out of his jacket, he hung it on the coat-tree and placed his keys on its designated hook before turning to face the interior of the house. "Derek?"

"In the kitchen, babe!" came the reply.

Reid furrowed his brows. Morgan certainly sounded better than he had earlier. The raw croak of this morning's speech was now gone, replaced by a definite stronger tone of voice that was near how Morgan normally sounded. He left the entrance hall and walked toward the kitchen, the soft, flickering light getting brighter as he got closer. When he arrived at the kitchen entrance, he froze, eyes widening as he took in the scene before him.

"Happy birthday, Spencer," Morgan said with a smile, leaning forward against the bar counter in the middle of the kitchen.

On top of the counter, there was a cake. Thickly coated with chocolate frosting and decorated unevenly with colorful flecks of various sprinkles, consistent patterns of waves created by red and purple icing adorning the sides, the cake sat proudly as the fat number candles reading _32_ dripped wax from the brightly lit flame waving merrily on top. There were five other thin candles, evenly spaced-out and separated around the edge of the cake, their small flame contributing to the intricate, shifting shadows forming around the kitchen.

It was, in Reid's mind, the most beautiful, delicious looking cake he had ever seen.

Reid's jaw was slack as he slowly stepped further into the room, caught between looking at the cake and staring at his boyfriend in shock. "Derek?" he whispered. "What's this?"

Morgan's brows lowered, and he pushed away from the counter to approach Reid. "Well, about a few hours after you left, I was actually feeling much better. I debated whether I should head to work or stay in, but I wanted you to come home so that we could celebrate your birthday properly, so I decided to try my hand at baking," he said, wrapping his firm arms around Reid's waist and pressing a small kiss to the tip of Reid's nose.

Reid closed his eyes at the sensation, biting back the lump that formed in his throat at the overwhelming emotion he felt for the man in front of him. He sighed shakily and slid his arms around Morgan's neck, burrowing his face into a broad shoulder. He kept his eyes closed as Morgan's reached a hand into his hair and soothingly stroked through it. "I... Thank you _so_ much."

Morgan hummed. "Anything for you, babe," he muttered. "So how was work today? Get a lot of birthday wishes?"

Reid clenched his jaw and opened his eyes, feeling a fresh pang of hurt at the mention of reminder of work today. "Actually... No."

He could feel Morgan tense underneath his grip, his movements halted. Then he pulled away, and Reid glanced into Morgan's face to see a pair of dark brown orbs glaring in shock. "What? What do you mean, _no_?"

"Exactly that," Reid responded, ducking his head. He had tried so hard to not let anyone see how much today had bothered him, and didn't want Morgan to see the hurt that he was sure was still morphed into his face. He shrugged in a gesture he hoped appeared indifferent. "I guess they just forgot."

"Are you _serious_? Not even _Baby Girl_?"

Reid didn't verbally reply, and instead just nodded at his feet. He saw Morgan's hand ascend to his chin, feeling the sure hold he felt on his jaw as his gaze was lifted to meet that of his lover's.

"I'll talk to them tomorrow," Morgan growled, a threatening tone underlying it.

Morgan sounded absolutely livid. A small, tiny part of Reid was ecstatic that his partner cared so much as to be furious at their friends for forgetting his birthday, but the larger part of him just wanted to put the ordeal behind him and move on.

Reid shook his head. "No,no, no, honestly, it's fine-"

"The hell it is! They forgot. _Again._ That's not okay!"

"It _is_ ," Reid emphasized. "I'm just happy that _you_ remembered, Derek. It's enough for me."

"But babe-!"

"Derek," Reid cut in, cupping his boyfriend's face in his hands and smiling fondly. Honestly, Morgan seemed more upset about this whole situation than Reid was, and the thought of that made him feel warm. "Seriously. I love you _so_ much. You remembered, and that is enough. It is o- _kay_."

Morgan didn't look entirely convinced, but in the end heaved a great sigh and grinned nonetheless. Reid was pleased to see that it wasn't forced for his benefit. "Okay. Whatever my Baby Boy wants, he gets. Especially on his birthday."

"That's right," Reid agreed, kissing Morgan's smile.

Morgan chuckled and ran his hands down Reid's sides. "Let's see how bad of a baker I am, yeah?" He slipped an arm around Reid's shoulders, leading him toward the flaming dessert.

"I'm sure I'll love it," Reid assured, laughing as Morgan bumped his hip against Reid's playfully.

And he did. He really, really did.

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The next day, Reid walked into the bullpen with a healthier (though still slightly sick) Morgan in tow, already in higher spirits than he had been yesterday. As they sat down at their workstations, he sent a questioning look toward the oversized lunch bag Morgan slipped under his desk but quickly put it to the back of his mind, knowing that on some days Morgan liked to bring in food for the both of them.

Not long after they sat down, Prentiss arrived, grinning happily at the sight of the two men.

"Morgan!" she greeted, taking off her coat and dumping her purse on her desk. "Glad to see you back!"

"Glad to be back," Morgan answered, his lips in a tight smile. Reid frowned briefly, pocketing the reaction for later and turned to smile at Prentiss.

"Still not completely healthy, but he refuses bedrest," Reid scolded without malice. Morgan turned his full set of teeth toward him, a smirk in place as he teasingly blew a kiss toward his boyfriend, laughing as a dark flush glowed with reverence across Reid's cheeks. Prentiss rolled her eyes at the display and sat down.

It was then that Garcia and JJ found their way over to them, each of them expressing their joy at seeing Morgan well and back at work.

"We really missed you yesterday!" Garcia exclaimed.

The tight-lipped smile was back, more noticeable now. Reid inwardly sighed. This was probably Morgan's passive-aggressive way to handle the team's forgetfulness. He was grateful that he cared so much, but he'd rather Morgan didn't.

"Where's the party at?" Rossi suddenly spoke up, appearing behind JJ as he walked up to the group. "Hey, Morgan! Nice to see you back and on your feet."

Morgan nodded, opening his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by their unit chief calling from their second floor landing.

"Oh good, you're all here," Hotch said, walking briskly toward the conference room. "We have a case."

A collective groan spread throughout the group, excluding Reid. Prentiss stood and followed JJ, Rossi, and Garcia. Reid stayed behind as Morgan lingered. "Man, I just got back!" Morgan huffed.

"Could have stayed in today and you wouldn't have to go," Reid reminded him, grabbing his satchel.

"And risk the chance of you being away for the rest of the week? Please."

Reid chuckled, but paused as he noticed Morgan retrieving the lunch bag from under his desk. "What's that for?"

"After the meeting."

Reid didn't like the sound of that, and quickly followed his boyfriend up the stairs and toward the conference room, where everyone was already settled into their seats. JJ glanced up from her task at distributing the case files and blinked.

"What's with that?" she asked, gesturing toward the lunch bag.

"Let's wait until after the meeting," Morgan answered, repeating his response to Reid, turning toward Garcia at the screen.

The case was of a possible spree killer in Arizona. There were three dead within the span of two weeks, the time frame shortening with no sign of slowing down. Reid was listening was mostly rapt attention, but his eyes kept straying to the bag sitting on Morgan's lap. He had a sinking suspicion as to what it was, but pursed his lips shut. The selfish part of him won out this time, and he decided to allow his boyfriend to help himself to his plan.

"Alright, wheels up in an hour," Hotch concluded, and the team made to stand.

"Hey, guys. Before you go, I actually brought you something from home. Made it myself," Morgan announced, patting the lunch bag. The team halted, turning back toward Morgan, armed with surprised and amused expressions.

"Is it going to make me ill?" Prentiss joked, prompting a chuckle from Rossi.

Morgan grinned. "Nah, I think you guys are gonna like this." Quickly, he unzipped the bag and opened the flap, unveiling multiple tubberware containers. He took them out and began handing them out to the team.

"Thank you, Morgan," Hotch said, making to open the container. "What is it?"

"Oh, just some of Spencer's birthday cake from last night," Morgan said frankly, a faux tone of happiness slipping into his voice.

Reid fought back a choking laugh, biting his tongue and keeping his face as neutral as he could while he watched each of their friends' faces turn from questioning to blankly horrified. He glanced down, hiding his entertained amusement behind a veil of dirty-blonde fringe.

"It's actually pretty good, hope you guys enjoy it!" Morgan finished, and before the conference room erupted in spluttering and frantic apologies, Morgan grabbed the empty lunch bag and Reid's hand, yanking the younger man out of the conference room.

Reid burst into a fit of giggles a safe distance away as Morgan dumped the bag on his desk and pulled him toward the elevator, hearing Morgan's soft laughter in reply. By now, he had forgotten any logical defense he had for his friends in regards to yesterday and felt his heart pound with rushing glee at the looks on their faces upon finally realizing their actions, and the fact that it had been Morgan that had brought it on.

Still... "That was mean," Reid chastised as they reached the elevator, but he couldn't stop the wide smile splitting across his face and the lack of true scorn in his voice.

"Nah, that was just what they deserved," Morgan countered, pushing the descending button. "Let them fret over you today like they should have yesterday. You, Spencer Reid, deserve to always have your day celebrated and should never have to feel the way you did ever again."

The elevator chimed as the car reached their floor, and Morgan led Reid past the opened double doors. Reid smiled at his partner's words and not for the first time wondered how he got so lucky as to have ended up with this thoughtful, considerate, _wonderful_ man. He nudged Morgan's shoulder affectionately.

"Thanks," he murmured.

Morgan said nothing, pressing a kiss to Reid's cheek as the doors closed.


End file.
